Washington Huskies’ Lorenzo Romar: ‘I didn’t think we had at times the best work ethic’ in 2015

Washington Huskies men’s basketball head coach Lorenzo Romar said a late-season collapse in 2014-15 was the result of a combination of poor work ethic, personal agendas and unfortunate injuries, The Seattle Times reported.

In an interview with Percy Allen of The Seattle Times, Romar candidly discussed his team’s second-half swoon that saw the Huskies go from the No. 13 team in the nation in December with an 11-0 record to finishing the year 16-15. In particular, Romar said his team’s personal agendas and lack of work ethic caused “slippage.”

Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar saw his team go from 11-0 to 16-15 in 2014-15. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

“When we had strong personalities in the past, there were a couple of things. For the most part guys’ work ethic was good,” Romar said. Last season, “I didn’t think we had at times the best work ethic. And I also think there were guys that came in that had agendas and they kind of checked them at the door. … I thought this year maybe we held on to that a little too much.”

The 2014-15 season was a roller-coaster ride all the way for the Huskies. After its flying start, the UW dropped the first three games of conference play, won the next three, then lost seven in a row. Six of those seven came after the dismissal of 7-foot sophomore Robert Upshaw, who led the NCAA in blocks when he left the program.

Romar pointed to the losses of center Upshaw and forward Tristan Etienne, who never made it to campus after signing a letter of intent, as key factors in the UW’s up-and-mostly-down season. However, Romar also said injuries to forwards Jernard Jarreau and Shawn Kemp Jr. also hurt the UW as the Huskies struggled to find healthy bodies.

“We weren’t changing because things weren’t necessarily working,” Romar said. “We were changing because in order to be effective we had to have a certain type of player out there and we didn’t have that. So we had to adjust to what we had as we went through the season.”

In the early portion of the offseason, the numbers game has only gotten worse for the Huskies. On April 10, almost one month after the UW’s final game, Washington announced that three players — Nigel Williams-Goss, Gilles Dierickx and Darin Johnson — are transferring to other schools. That leaves the UW with just four returning scholarship players heading into 2015-16, as well as six signees and Auburn transfer Matthew Atewe, who will apply for a medical hardship waiver that would allow him to play next season.

Though the Huskies are short on bodies at the moment, Romar is adamant that they aren’t short on talent, even in the front court, where Jarreau is the only returner. Romar said he is particularly excited to see the versatility that Jarreau, Atewe, junior college transfer Malik Dime and incoming freshman Marquese Chriss might provide for the UW.

“There are 10 guys that are totally bought in to Washington basketball,” Romar told the Times. “And totally bought in to what we’re trying to do here. So right there the chemistry is going to be pretty good. That helps.”